Second Day of Christmas
by wolfofsummerbreeze
Summary: Charlie finds Harry in the astronomy tower, hiding from the twin's antics and remembering. Charlie decides that Harry needs better memories, and Harry agrees with some ... persuasion. 2 of 12 Christmas stories. Slash. Pointless.


_On the second day of Christmas my True Love gave to me…_

…_Two turtle doves._

No one expected anything to happen on the day after Christmas.

This meant, of course, that something did happen. The point being that no one Expected it. The Twins counted on it.

Or… Harry at least hoped it was the twins. He didn't want to think about anyone else being insane enough to make dove-turtles (like sea turtles but smaller and with more feathers, particularly on their front fins… er… wings) let alone set them loose with mistletoe tied to their neck.

Seeing as they were at Hogwarts, having held a Christmas party there involving too much alcohol for most people to safely apparate or floo home, Harry had a slight advantage. Slight, because even though he knew secret passages many did not, Fred and George, assuming they were the culprits, knew just as many.

Thus Harry had woken up and was on his way to breakfast (which Molly had planned for thankfully) when ahead of him Ron and Hermione had the misfortune of being caught under mistletoe by the zooming hybrid.

The best part? It was _enchanted_ mistletoe.

Last year Harry remembered the twins' mistletoe debut, mainly because it involved him and Ginny, recently broken up, colored completely red (him) and green (her), with a spell that absolutely _refused_ to come off unless they kissed.

So Harry did the sensible thing: He snuck down to the kitchen, grabbed breakfast, and barricaded himself in the warmest hide-hole he could find.

Upon realizing that he could use magic to warm himself he instead chose to wander the castle. He had missed this place, two years spent apart from it and the year before that as well, and it felt good to remember. Eventually he wandered up to the astronomy tower, the last place Dumbledore had been seen alive…

He leaned his back against the wall and just stared up at the sky, losing all sense of time.

Slowly he came back to himself as he heard fumbling up the stairs.

He relaxed the grip on his wand when he saw that it was only Charlie, whose face lit up in a grin as he saw Harry.

"There you are! Escaping from the terror of the twins?"

Smiling back, Harry nodded. "So it is them?"

"Who else would it be?" Charlie sat down next to him and pulled something out of his pocket.

Taking out his wand, Charlie proceeded to enlarge what had been a shrunken picnic basket with enough lunch for a family of four.

"Why so much food?"

"Mom's orders to find you, Ron, and Hermione and to feed you. All of you had the same idea, which is smarter than me, though I still have my luck intact." Picking up what appeared to be a stir-fry dish in a lidded bowl, Harry set to eating with Charlie close behind.

"Don't know where they went, sorry. I broke away before the… turtles could follow."

Charlie just grinned. "Smart boy. But I have my methods." He pulled out a familiar piece of paper and pointed to Ron and Hermione who were both hiding under the whomping willow.

Harry decided not to ask how he had gotten the Map. "Damn, wish I'd have thought of that. Flying things don't stand a chance around that tree."

Charlie nodded and they finished off the rest of the meal in comfortable silence.

"So what's everyone else doing?"

"Oh, this and that. Chatting, wandering the grounds, remembering." Harry nodded, having done much the same.

"Though, you know," Harry looked at Charlie, confused. "Well, it would be just our luck to be found up here by those flying devils." At the confused look he was still receiving he just rolled his eyes. "Hello Harry, astronomy tower?"

Harry felt himself flushing a bit. "Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I just don't associate this place with that, not after…" He trailed off; looking like something unpleasant had flown into his mouth.

"You mean you've never made out up here?" Charlie sounded genuinely curious.

"Well, I have… but it wasn't particularly… memorable. Though now that I've said that I wouldn't be surprised if in the next five minutes we turn Christmas colors and have to, because I'd remember that." He turned smiling to Charlie.

Charlie smiled back, but the expression was odd, maybe strained. "You know, the twins have them trying to get people they think would be good together caught. They've been taking the credit for those that have worked out." And Charlie spoke he leaned forward and Harry realized that he had never known that though normally looking blue Charlie's eyes were, at least close-up, actually green. "Maybe we should bring them down a few notches…"

Swallowing thickly Harry forced himself to blink. "Uh, how?"

"Maybe there should be a couple they can't take credit for?"

And now Harry had no illusion about what Charlie, smoldering-eyed Charlie, meant. Not when Charlie was leaning towards him like that.

"And maybe I should give you something memorable about the astronomy tower Harry."

Harry shivered to hear his name said like that. Swallowing again he tried to formulate some form of acquiesce.

"Yes."

Oh, well, that works.

And Charlie was on him like a tiger and Harry would be pretty confident in saying that he would most definitely remember _this_ kiss, that is, he would say once Charlie kindly removes his tongue from Harry's mouth where it is stealing all coherent thought.

And, just their luck, as they go to leave at the apparition point, the flying turtles do catch up with Harry and Charlie.

In front of everyone.

Harry wanted to Die.

Then again, maybe not, because it means he gets another kiss from Charlie.


End file.
